The summer movies of 2009

Written by Michael Vass

The season is upon us, and Hollywood is ready. Well they hope they are at least. Because this year the summer season of blockbusters and mega-hits has consolidated into a morass of retreads, prequels, and revisioned ideas. And the timing is perfect, since this is also a summer of layoff and economic peril.

Hollywood is not known for the chances it takes, at least not in the last decade or so. Rather than risking truly entertaining the masses (or creating unimaginative embarrassments) we will be getting more of the same. But that is not always a bad thing.

So I will list, in order of my preference from best to worst, the movies that will hit a theater near you.

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince



The series has been solidly entertaining. It’s stayed mostly true to the books, and has kept an edge that both adults and kids can enjoy. The actors have grown in their abilities and the storyline. This may be one of the best of the series.

Angels & Demons



Dan Brown can write. There is no question about that. Ron Howard can direct slugs and make them a spectacular adventure. And Tom Hanks has become the leading actor of our generation. The combination was a phenomenal hit in their first collaboration. There is nothing less that I would expect in this second showing.

The Taking of Pelham 123

I already discussed my thoughts on this remake starring John Travolta and Denzel Washington. This should be a tour de force. Definitely a must see, from what I can tell.

The next few films start the trend of either big hits or complete failure. The stories that these films are based on are well loved and rich in history. Because of fan devotion they will either get it right and we all will love them, or they will be so bad that DVD sales won’t even help them break even.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine



As I have said before, a revisioned story, lots of action and glitz. Will it work? Iffy. The trailer has its good and bad points. As does the plot it seems. Will it be what fans have waited for? Time will tell.

Star Trek



Even more action and glitz, the word to describe this film is revisioned. Normally that spells doom for movie-goers. And if the Spock in this movie is any indication there will be an uproar of despair. But then again, it could be like Transformers and keep everyone’s eyes so busy their brain won’t notice if it is bad or good.

Terminator: Salvation



Can this work without the Governator? Will Christian Bale improve on the John Connor role? Will this revisioning live up to the story we all have come to love? There is just no way to know right now.

As for the rest of the films of the summer, well the list gets really dicey from here on.

Public Enemies

I already previewed this film. Johnny Depp is careful in picking his roles, so this should be good. The question is will anyone care about a gangster from America’s past?

Inglorious Basterds

Another film I previewed. Quentin Tarrantino means this will be a curse driven film. Brad Pitt means that it will draw women. WWII should mean that guys will want to see it. But the combination still leaves me with doubts. This may not work, at least not in any way that a fan of any of the above will enjoy.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

They aren’t American heroes anymore. They aren’t cartoons. And there is little hype behind the film. Either it’s been so revisioned that no one wants to talk about this film, or they did a great job of keeping expectations down. Likely this will be a failure. There really isn’t much left of what fans loved about this to see on the big screen. But the volume of explosions and slow motion Ninja fights should be distracting enough for even the least MTV loving among us.

Transformers 2

I didn’t like Shia Lebouf in the first film. I hated the first film in fact. It was stupid, filled with plot holes, and revisioned to death. This second film intends to take all those things and amp them up to the nth degree. Last time I waited to see this on DVD, this time I’ll wait for it to be on free cable.

But as always, there is a wildcard in the summer movie season. This year it may well be

District 9



Based on the above video you can tell a couple of things. Like this is clearly about Apartheid. It’s a way of telling a story about human suffering in a format that is unusal at best. It’s kind of like the movie (and television show) Alien Nation, but without the American sensibilities and imagined democracy. This may be a sleeper film. It’s not action packed, or filled with explosions. But it has a message, and it is hands-down the most original film of the summer season. Plus the director is Peter Jackson. Which means it will be visually captivating if nothing else.

The Joker - an example of speculating and not collecting

Do you recall back in the day when you would play with a 3 inch Yoda doll that was part of your Star Wars collection? I’m talking about the toys based on the original movie, before they paid attention to which chapter they represented. They were fun and cool and everyone wanted a Darth Vader or Boba Fett (which came out before the second movie as I recall).

Perhaps you were more interested in the G.I. Joe dolls. Each stood about 6” tall and some had special abilities like ‘karate action’ or an ‘eagle eye’ or simply a 'fuzzy' beard. Again this is before the cartoon series that spawned a new version of toys, a mere 3” tall.

If you do recall these toys, or others like them, with joy in your heart don’t search on eBay. The prices these then-modestly priced items go for now will astound most. But some want to search around for the latest in the Batman: Dark Knight series of toys, or the X-Men, Hulk, Spiderman and so on. They should choose carefully.

There are hordes of would be collectors buying up the various items each movie spawns, hoping that one of their purchases will one day broker their dream vacation. A great example of this is the current craze for all goods that are the Joker, bearing a likeness to Heath Ledger. Honestly I think such pursuits are a waste.

Collecting generally happens either because of a rarity of an item, it’s representation of a significant event in time, age, or it’s value as an item of fond memories – even if those memories are second or third hand. That’s why you can sell a good condition Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham first edition book for several thousand dollars. Or why certain stamps are priceless. The same can be said of the above mentioned Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and various coin collections. There is a value that can stand the test of time.

But today there is a rush based on minor activities and passing curiosity. Not unlike the comic book craze in the late 1980’s that caused comic book prices to rise dramatically, and then all but the older, rarer books to have that value nearly evaporate within a year or 2.

Heath Ledger is dead. It is a shame. But he did not die, say like Bruce Lee – at the top of his career, rising in legend and acclaim, in the middle of filming what might have been a classic film. Mr. Ledger died of a drug overdose that he gave himself. No mystery or glamour to it. His death was no Marilyn Monroe event. He was no mega-star. Thus there is no significant event that can survive time.

Thus anyone hoarding the Joker toys is making a massive bet that Ledger will be remembered in an historic manner in 5 years, thus giving a value to their collected items. I’m sure they are also hoping that the millions of other items produced before his death, and more than a few after, will all wind up in the trash as little Jonnie or Jane grow up. But considering many of the Joker items, and Batman as well, were snapped up by hopeful collectors (or speculators might be better to describe them) the chances are slim for rarity. Thus the hope of selling an item in the future to die-hard Heath Ledger fans diminishes.

Since the Joker items have just come out along with the movie, age is something that won’t happen for another decade or more. And considering the trend of Hollywood to ‘revision’ older successful films, it’s highly likely that by the time any item today becomes a fond memory of a middle- or later aged adult, there will be at least one more version of Batman corralling bad guys on either a small or big screen.

So overall the chances of a Heath Ledger Joker item becoming a collectible of worth are unlikely. Now I don’t say this to diminish the memory of Heath Ledger, but this is the most recent and dramatic point that can be made right now.

Collecting is not speculation. It should not be done with the hope of a reward in the future. That kind of wait-and-sell is best suited for the stock market, and your odds are far better there. Collecting should be done for the sheer joy of it.

I recently sold a few of my Magic The Gathering cards. I owned them from my time in California (in the early 1990’s) when I started to play the game and collect the cards after I had broken my leg in a motorcycle accident. I had no idea what the value was then, and even less now. But when I sold them – clearing away some things as I moved into a new house – I found out that just 3 of my cards alone were worth $200. That was more than I had spent on the whole collection. And I honestly had a hard time selling them.

I think that is the real value of a collection. The emotion it provides the buyer, and holds for the seller. If you start a collection for any other reason than that, you’re probably wasting your money and time.